City Hall at Dusk

Hey Tris, wouldn't it have been easier just to walk up and down the street with a sandwich board that says, "The end is comming." This looks like post nuclear winter or something to that effect.

 

At least the utility wires are still intact. You will have to explain this one to me. By the way I really like the dome and domes in general. This reminded me of Invalides in Paris because of the golden tone I guess.

The dome of city hall used to be more attractive still. It was copper sheathed (still is, only now it's painted matte gray) with a beautiful patina from oxidation, you know, that dirty-green-gold look. Then our present mayor (Willie Brown--what a shyster he is) got it into his head that a nifty retrofit (necessary for structural reasons because of damaged sustained to the building's foundation in the earthquake in 1989) should include a sprucing up of the old dome and exterior in general. The result is what you see, (This effect can be more easily seen in a closeup I did of the dome one evening several months back over in the San Francisco at Night folder.) Not all bad on balance but I preferred the older more traditional look. Call me a conservative at heart while Willie's more the "mover and shaker" type.

The photo has been rendered several different ways in Paint Shop Pro to affect the coloring. This shot seems to need it. (Actually I like the straight greyscale presentation but I thought this and the other, similar, image of a Tri-X shot of this same building from the same perspective, though taken at a different time, would thrill the crowd on Photonet more--call it another one of my experiments in color-enhances-light-defines-form. I've done this before but only occsionally--usually I steer clear of the "cute" look and play it straight instead. For some reason I've uploaded three such images in the last day or so. It must be the early advent of spring around here that is causing such wild behavior in me.)

Those overhead wires, by the way, are power lines for the electric Muni buses. A great nuisance as the buses are always losing their tracks, snarling traffic in the process. It's said this is a more environmental-friendly means of getting public transit around but I wonder. One needs to generate that electricity someplace somehow and when I went to school that meant either burning fossil fuels or creating critical mass from fissionable material. (Over in France they tried--may still be trying--tidal action, and of course there is wind power, which is actually used to some extent in California, but basically we're talking the Big Two here.)

Doomsday, eh? Hadn't thought of it but you might be on to something at that. If it does come it well ought to hit San Francisco first. You've never visited a city so full of fools.

You know, come to think of it this picture does have a Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea look around the edges.

Hmmm. Perhaps a little more red . . . with some green streaks thrown in . . . .

Tris--the Paintshop sky doesn't work for me; looks like post tornado rather than post nuclear. The vans parked out front and the Muni wires do work. (BTW, most of that electricity for the Muni buses used to come from hydro up in the Hetch-Hetchy)

 

Composition is fine.

 

All in all, I'd prefer a straight or more subtle production.

I think I like normal print better.... nice view by the way.

Another architectural masterpiece!

I can feel the grandeur!

(BTW, most of that electricity for the Muni buses used to come from hydro up in the Hetch-Hetchy)

Some of San Francisco's electricity comes from that source, Kelly, and then only when there's water enough to power the turbines. The rest is bought from PG&E and other suppliers. But my point was that while the use of electricity seems clean it all too often requires expenditure of other, dirtier fuels to make that "clean" current. Also, my comment wanted to address this issue at large, not just as it applies to San Francisco's overheads.

I happen to agree re the "effects" applied here after the fact. As far as my own tastes go, I usually print my B&W images straight (City Hall); however, as you can see from the grades assigned to this picture a certain percentage of the general public's taste runs in another direction. Big news there. Just chalk it up as another one of my experiments in color-light-form = psychology.

Having said that, were I to grade this image my score would probably be in the neighborhood of of 6-6, which is not far off the average in this case. The composition's okay, there's nothing objectionable about the subject and the print is dyanmic to an extent thanks to the friction, an element I normally try to inject one way or the other in my work. It isn't Smithsoniam material but it ain't half bad for someone walking by with a camera who happens to see the scene and record it instantaneously on the move. In other words, a good snapshot.